Former senator Juan Flavier dies

(Updated 5:51 p.m.) Former senator and Health Secretary Dr. Juan Flavier passed away at around 4 p.m. Thursday. He was 79 years old.

Flavier's daughter Joy Flavier-Alampay confirmed to GMA News that her father succumbed to multiple organ failure and sepsis brought about by pneumonia.

A separate report from dzBB's Nimfa Ravelo quoted Roby Alampay, Flavier's son-in-law, as saying that the former senator had been confined at the National Kidney Transplant Institute since September 11 in the hospital's intensive care unit.

Flavier, perhaps the most popular Health Secretary in recent memory, is best known for the catchphrase "Let's DOH it," with which he promoted the department's programs.

Among them were the Yosi Kadiri campaign against smoking; Oplan Alis Disease, which according to his profile on Senate.gov.ph resulted in the declaration of the Philippines as polio-free by the World Health Organization; and the Sangkap Pinoy campaign against micronutrient malnutrition.

Appointed by former President Fidel V. Ramos in 1992, the former barrio doctor headed the DOH until 1995, when he left the post to run for Senate under the administration ticket.

He was senator for two terms, from 1995 to 2007, serving as its President Pro Tempore from 2002 until the end of his last term..

As an advocate for health and the environment, Flavier authored and sponsored health-related legislation, including the Traditional Medicine Law, the Clean Air Act, the Philippine Nursing Act of 2002, and the Tobacco Regulation Act.

Flavier was consistently the "poorest" among the senators, as reflected in his statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALNs).

Prior to his illustrious stint in government, Flavier practiced medicine in Nueva Ecija and Cavite "to serve the barrio people" there.

He earned his degree in medicine from the University of the Philippines in 1960 and a Master's degree in Public Health from the Johns Hopkins University. — Rose-An Jessica Dioquino/BM, GMA News